Compulsory Care
by katmaree
Summary: Neji has accepted Sakura is a ninja valuable, and tolerable enough to be considered worth his time. However, this could change for better or worse when what should have been a simple mission goes wrong leaving Sakura incapacitated and in his care. NejiSak


It would be a lie to say that Hyuuga Neji never complained about the circumstances of his assigned missions. It would however be false to accuse him of outwardly professing his dislike for trivial matters such as the rain relentlessly soaking him and the dead weight of his team-mate across his back. Instead, he restrained himself to his inner musings and a pained expression as he trudged in no particular direction. After all, no one was around (or awake enough) to see him. Struggling to preserve his hold on an equally as wet, muddy, and inconveniently almost unconscious, Haruno Sakura he groaned as she coughed feebly against his neck again.

"I know, I know," He muttered in response not really caring whether she heard him or not. He still maintained that this was all her fault even if she was the one suffering for it. Well, he was suffering too obviously but at least he didn't have a fever.

He readjusted his grip on her none too gently. Hearing a startled grunt in response he was left feeling a little guilty for his near mistreatment. She had _tried_ to pretend she wasn't sick and had managed to (for the most part) continue to keep pace with him as they struggled homewards. Tsunade had sent her to accompany him on this mission. He had been acting as a correspondent with Konoha's spies in Stone whenever he was available but suspicions were beginning to be raised. It wasn't his life that was at risk however but his capture could lead to the divulging of information too important for Tsunade to risk sending him alone. So Sakura was his medic backup, prepared to treat him in the occurrence of sedation through drugs, it was simple enough. They'd worked together plenty of times before and despite attitude clashes (well, often it seemed Neji's attitude clashed with _everyone_ else's) she also provided pleasant enough company.

He probably would have been offended if Tsunade had assigned any other medic to come with him now that he considered it. It was difficult enough to find co workers he considered tolerable let alone enjoyable to be around (plus she was skilful enough to not get in his way and after her years around Team 7and pretty adaptable to his moods).

Neither of them would have ever thought the Stone nin would map out the relationship between them and guess she wasn't a photographer on a commissioned trip to the village totally unaware that himself or rather 'Kaito, the inn manager from Suna' even existed. This ruse however, somehow failed and while keeping a subtle but close watch on Neji from he position at the bar Sakura's drink had been spiked.

It was evident this was the work of nin when only a few sips into her first (and what would have been only) drink she slumped face down onto the bench. He had noticed this from the corner of his eye and at first had thought she was only resting her head momentarily. A few seconds later this theory was demolished as she struggled back into movement and attempted to push herself upright only to fall sideways from her stool.

Not much notice was taken, a few people jeered with amusement then turned away hardly interested in this early 'drunk' but in a faltering act of…stupidity he had given away his own façade. He could think of nothing other than a lapse in logic that would describe the panic the overwhelmed him as he conspicuously rose with a purposeful look in her direction. It appeared this had been the reaction the Stone nin had been hoping for as several of the figures seated in scattered pockets of the bar quickly moved before he could. They supported and began dragging Sakura outside in a way that if he hadn't really known her he may have assumed they were her friends helping her home, daring him to follow if he knew this wasn't true.

Still baffled by his folly from earlier he had felt genuinely confused as he watched her get pulled out backwards through the side entrance. For a moment her head lolled backwards and slightly glazed eyes locked on his. Her expression was so full of trust despite her situation (which, for the most part, she probably wasn't aware of) that it made him feel guilty for even hesitating and not racing after her. Then he caught himself, annoyed at almost foolishly rushing out as Naruto would have and half wondering if he had also been drugged without his noticing leading to the rash behaviour.

After all, Hyuuga Neji was not often prone to petty emotions such as guilt, let alone allowing them to dictate his conduct?

Realising with a start that he had better note at least the direction they were heading in he quickly made his way towards the same exit. Before leaving however, as inconspicuously as possible while facing the wall to avoid notice, he activated his Byakugan to see if he could determine Sakura's location from inside. He smirked when he realised they were waiting outside for him. Sakura had been pushed into the corner near the rubbish collection and he guessed they thought her of little consequence; she was only bait for him.

Little did they know she was the Hokage's own pupil.

Simple enough, there were only four of them. He checked the front door quickly for any sign of it being watched and held back an arrogant laugh when he saw no one. Did they really think he was just going to charge out there?

Then again, he reminded himself, he had revealed his own location earlier. Now they were underestimating him and that was obviously working to his advantage. About to make his move to surprise them in some spectacular way (he was considering the roof) he stopped when he saw movement from Sakura. Expecting her to try and crawl behind them to escape he was shocked as she pulled herself upright, grasping at the uneven brick wall behind her.

Presently, the aforementioned Kunoichi choked back another pathetic sounding cough close to his ear and he twitched with annoyance brought suddenly from his musings.

"Sakura?" He asked quietly but she failed to respond.

He wouldn't have minded her courageous efforts to overcome the effects of the drug _if_ after having managed to stand up she hadn't tried to shout something resulting in all attention being drawn to her trembling figure. Neji was then left with only a second to gape at her before he hurtled through the side door himself all ideas of subtly leaving his mind.

The fool had charged them. There was no other way of describing it. Head down, teeth bared and completely unarmed the pink haired girl had careered forwards. The man directly in her path had braced himself looking surprised but upon impact Sakura managed to bowl him over while falling herself.

The rest had been simple. Then again Neji concluded to himself, such battles always were. Thankfully Sakura had taken no more rash avenues of attack and seemed instead determined in regaining as much energy as she possibly could. He had noticed at one stage her swigging down what was probably a temporary and unspecified antidote designed to prolong the effects of whatever she had been drugged with. It did not come into effect quickly enough for her to help in the fight however and she only stood up again when he had finished.

"I'm fine." She had told him before he could ask. Despite disagreeing with her conclusion he nodded without facing her and checked the entrance of the passage. With no one in sight he sped off certain she would understand the requirement for haste.

It had only taken the remaining half a day for her to start faltering when she ran (he was certain she would fall soon enough) and two more dawns for her to fail to rise from her sleeping bag at all. With a sigh he had packed up his own belongings inwardly hoping this extra time would result in her awakening. When even his subtle delays failed to encourage any sort of movement from the girl he crouched beside her and gently shook her shoulders.

Apparently she was a heavy sleeper and with dwindling patience he threw her about more violently until her head flopped limply from shoulder to shoulder. With an expression more worried than he'd ever admit, he was about to endeavour in something drastic like hurling her over his shoulder and running directly back to Konoha when she blearily opened her eyes. He stared expectantly back, still supporting her arms, but she struggled to focus on anything in particular. Almost absentmindedly she coughed in his face (her breath smelling strangely sweet for someone who had been travelling as long as they had) before falling forward, her head crushed against his chest at an awkward angle.

Muttering a few obscenities he pushed her away and let her fall heavily back to the ground of her own accord. Roughly shoving her belongings into her pack then deciding the entire activity was a waste of time he cast them away and considered his options.

Leaving her there was indeed a tempting choice. However, the number of missions they'd been on together and her irritating attentiveness when he was unfortunate enough to be injured prevented this course of action. He wasn't entirely heartless after all.

Instead, he took the time to satisfactorily conceal everything incriminatingly ninja in their possession as it began to rain. Still cocooned in her sleeping bag Neji spared the slug-like outline a few glances noting with disdain the puddle beginning to form around where she lay.

With one final remorseful thought confirming he would probably regret this later he dragged her incapacitated form from the sodden bedding and abandoning that too, he attempted to haul her onto his back in a manner resembling something comfortable. Comfortable for him that is; he didn't really care if she wasn't at ease, he was carrying her dammit, and she was in no position to make demands.

Eventually he decided that no demands were forthcoming. In fact; she appeared to be contently asleep doing nothing to improve his fast deteriorating mood.

Finally, with her chin hitting him on the shoulder every time he moved too quickly (speed being hard to achieve anyway with his hand supporting her legs just behind the knees on either side of his torso) and her hands flapping about absurdly in front of his face with her arms linked loosely about his neck he set off. That being said he wasn't exactly sure where he was setting off too but he was starting to voyage nonetheless.

And now, hours later, he was still voyaging so to speak, carefully following the course of a river. With the conclusion of his own refelction on the past few days events Neji felt more aggravated than ever. As if sensing his growing frustration and deciding to add to it Sakura began to mutter.

"It's coooold," She grumbled in a petulant tone even through the haze of her fever. She struggled for a few moments almost making him drop her and causing half her wet hair to stick to his check as she looked around sightlessly in the fast fading daylight.

"Perhaps you would have been warmer if I had abandoned you in a puddle. Care to test the theory?" Neji snapped back without remorse successfully silencing her.

Just as he started seriously considering going ahead with this plan he pushed through a final almost impenetrable hedge and found himself on the edge of a small dirt road. To his greater astonishment he noticed the lights of a single old fashioned building a few hundred metres further down it. With relief he crouched down and tipped his passenger backwards into the rainwater filled gutter.

Pulling her upright (so she hopefully wouldn't drown) he carefully removed her hitae-ate and tucked it away in the one day pack he had taken from the camp along with his own. She was awake now but he ignored her and made a final effort of rubbing mud into her hair.

"Where am I?" She asked meekly.

"We'll be inside soon," He answered in a bland voice.

She opened he mouth as if to speak again but only gaped at him with wide panicking eyes. With his own eyes narrowed in disgust Neji quickly yanked her hair back from her face and twisted her head until she faced the muddy bank rather than him. Sure enough she began to heave violently only moments later making such hoarse cat-like sounds he felt compelled to rub the poor girls back in a rare act of sympathy.

As she finished with a few choked wretches he quickly pulled his hand away as he noticed that despite his efforts she had managed to get some remnants of sick on her clothes.

Oh well, it all contributed to his cause.

"Oh mother," She gagged as she turned and clawed at his shirt. He caught her hands and held them firmly slightly annoyed by her delirium and the danger it could put them in.

"I'm Neji, remember that Sakura, don't forget where we are."

He took her drooping head as affirmation while vaguely wondering if this was how she had to deal with him when he was similarly out of action. No, his arrogance convinced him that he would be much more dignified even in this sate of frailty.

"Can you walk?" He asked not really expecting a response "No matter, just don't get too comfortable this time," he finished with a sigh after a few moments.

He picked her up carefully this time one arm under her knees the other supporting her back. Her chin sunk limply to her chest as he stood and began what he hoped were the final few steps of his journey.

He'd reached the door within a few minutes and as he clumsily used her dangling feet to knock on it he forced himself to pant strenuously almost to the point of hyperventilation. It opened cautiously almost straight away and Neji could see one eye peering analytically at him.

"Sorry to disturb you at this hour; she's ill," He gasped in a false, frightened voice.

An elderly man pulled the door open but made no invitation to allow them inside.

"How did she get like that?" He asked with a suspicious glare as a woman of the same age jutted her head around the corner to stare at them as well. Her gaze was not unfriendly at least, only remotely curious.

"Bird watching."

"Bird watching?"

"Yes, she likes birds. So much so she tried to climb a tree to view them more clearly but fell into the river."

"And now she's sick?"

"Well, it is rather cold. I have money if you could provide us with board."

The man opposite him narrowed his eyes.

"I'll not have people bringing whores here."

It was a really fortunate thing Sakura was quite oblivious to the world at present. Although alternately; they would even be here in the first place if she wasn't just that. To help get his point across he moved Sakura's rain soaked and sallow face into proper view.

"She's my wife," Neji lied in a hiss. The woman (who he had momentarily forgotten about) finally pushed past her partner and made a space for him to enter. To his surprise the man gave him a sudden warm and welcoming smile.

"On your Honeymoon dear?" She asked while Neji responded with a non-committal jerk of his head "How unfortunate for her to get ill. Follow me; have you had anything to eat?"

"No, but it doesn't matter, I just need a room."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll get something for her too, see if you can make her drink a little at least." She rapidly rolled off while leading him down the corridor. Neji tried to concentrate on not banging Sakura's head against the wall while nodding at everything the woman said "And we'll need some fresh clothes," She finished with a direct look at the man from the door who turned in a different direction without complaint.

As they paused outside a door Neji took a moment to glance down at his load and sigh. At least he'd have an excuse to stay with her and stop her from blurting out anything incriminating when she woke up. If everything worked out well she'd be fine by the morning and they could leave straight away.

"Go in go in, I'll be back soon," The woman told him as he was ushered through into a small room.

It was a lot warmer inside the room than in the hallway and Neji gladly strode over to lone double bed. This would pose no problem however; he would be quite able to play the attentive spouse from a chair next to the bedside table. This role was not entirely unfamiliar to him although the last time it had been him in a dress clinging to Lee's arm. Despite her condition Sakura was an obvious improvement.

He dumped her down happily and propped her up on the pillows glad to be rid of the burden. By the time the owners had returned he was diligently patting her forehead. He never had found time to comment on how abnormally large it was.

The woman re-entered with a pile of extra linen closely followed by the man from earlier who looked like he had clean clothes for them. Neji quickly rose to help.

"How is she doing now she's inside?" The woman asked.

"Improving I believe," He cautiously selected his answer as she continued to fuss over the amount of blankets available. The question had created a sudden wave of perhaps justified panic in him. Was she getting better? After all he had no idea what she had been drugged with and apparently neither did she or at least, she was in no position to tell him if she was indulged with such knowledge.

"You might be able to get her to drink something if she wakes up," The woman told him warmly enough that he was able to realise his sudden worry may have been more visible on his face than he would like to admit "You'll have to see if you can clean her up a bit too, she'll get worse like that."

"Yes, thank you for everything," He answered hoping they would recognise the polite dismissal. To his relief they both smiled and let themselves out silently.

The room was suddenly quiet and Neji forced himself to turn and look at his companion again. She lay exactly as he had left her, arms tucked neatly by her sides. He could already see where she was getting the blankets wet and mud dirtied the pale material of the topmost pillow she was rested on.

His eyes focused on her pale face, lips down turned mournfully but brow otherwise un-creased and expressionless.

"Sakura?" He ventured quietly "Are you thirsty? Hungry?" Feeling only slightly ridiculous he knelt beside the bed to bring his face closer to her "Are you still cold?"

Predictably there was no answer and he sighed with frustration and exhaustion.

It bothered him he had very little idea what to do next.

A/N: I hope to continue this: I have a very long holiday ahead of me so please expect updates on all of my stories. This was written in a few disjointed stages and my muse struck at random intervals so sorry for any inconsistencies in the style. I would very much appreciate a review if you have the time, thank you for reading!


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